Soulmates
by SkaterSince2004
Summary: Charlie and Claire centric outtakes from my story 'The Long Way Home!


Author's Note: I've been a loyal Skater since Sawyer and Kate shared their first kiss on screen almost 9 years ago, but I've always like Charlie and Claire's relationship as well. My heart broke when Charlie died and I still remember what a shock it was, because I'd really believed that he'd somehow survive. Anyways, so while I've been writing my Skate-centric stories that take place after the season finale, I've been rewatching Lost once again to keep as much as possible canon. While I was watching season three this past week, for whatever reason this story popped into my head and I couldn't let it go until I finally put it down in writing and it had actually taken over half of my last Chapter in 'The Long Way Home'. So here I've pretty much just copied and pasted these scenes that are – in my head at least – Charlie and Claire related and decided to post them here as a one shot. I've never written Charlie before, and he – like Sawyer – has a unique way of expressing himself, so forgive me if the way he talks seems not on point, but I've tried my best … please have mercy. So here it is, thank you for reading!

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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Kate closed the front door quietly behind her and pushed her sunglasses on top of her head. Claire's house was eerily quiet and experience told her that Aaron must be down for his afternoon nap.

Feeling right at home she sauntered into the kitchen, got herself a glass of iced tea before she walked to the glass sliding doors that lead out to the backyard.

She pushed the door open and stepped outside. Claire and Miles both quit talking the moment she came into view and her first instinct was that she must've been the topic of their discussion.

"Hey, Kate, how's the sprout doing?" Miles asked as he glanced at her approaching them.

"We're good, how are you guys?"

"Fine." Claire replied and smiled up at her.

"Just dandy." Miles replied with a tone of voice that told her he wasn't in the best of moods today. But then his eyes caught hers again, "Any news from Richard?"

Kate pulled a chair back and sat down, stretching her jean glad legs out and propped them on the chair beside her, "He says James is still not answering his cell. It goes straight to voicemail every time he calls, so he said he'll drive out there today to check up on him."

Miles lowered his gaze, "How long has it been since he talked to him?"

"Three days." Kate answered unable to keep the worry out of her voice and from showing on her face.

Miles snorted, "It's just taking too damn long. Seems like he's been gone forever."

Kate nodded, "I know. I just can't wait for him to come home."

Miles emptied his drink and got up, "Well, I got a couple of errands to run. I'll catch up with you guys later."

And with that he disappeared into the house without as much as a good bye kiss to Claire.

Kate looked after Miles' retrieving form and looked back at Claire who rolled her eyes in a dramatic fashion, which caused her to chuckle back at her friend, "No kiss? Trouble in paradise?"

Claire nodded, "He's mad at me."

"What did you do?" Kate asked with a glint of amusement in her voice, welcoming the distraction from her own problems.

Claire hesitated for a moment, but then she pushed her chair back, stood and turned her back towards Kate and spoke as she lifted the bottom hem of her shirt, "I did this."

Kate gasped, recognizing the tattoo that adorned the lower half of Claire's back, "That's the symbol that was on Charlie's ring, isn't it? DriveShaft."

Claire nodded and smiled as she sat back down, "Yeah."

"I assume it's permanent."

Claire nodded again and smiled brightly back at Kate, "Yeah, it's forever. It's an early birthday present to myself."

Kate nodded and smiled, "So he's mad that you got a Tattoo?"She took a sip from her iced tea.

"Among other things?" Claire replied.

"What other things?" Kate gave her a curious look, glad for anything that would take her mind off of James even for just a few brief moments.

Claire shifted a bit uncomfortable in her chair, "I've lied about some things after we got back."

Kate laughed and snorted unladylike, "Haven't we all?"

Claire gave her a forced smile and hesitated, "When we first got back, my mom and I went and got all the necessary paperwork taken care off. You know, Aaron's birth certificate, our visas to stay here with you guys and such, and I was just so beside myself … I was so happy to be back, but it was so bittersweet because Charlie wasn't here with me, you know?"

Kate propped one leg in front of her and hugged it as she nodded her understanding so Claire continued.

"Anyway, to make a long story short, I decided to put Charlie's name down as Aaron's father."

"Wow." Kate was clearly surprised, unsure of what to say to that.

"Well, Miles didn't know about all that, until Thomas – my ex – decided to show up unannounced and demanded to see his son."

"Wait – what?" Kate dropped her leg and sat up straight, "When was this? He just showed up, just like that?"

"He showed up when you were with Sawyer. So I presented him with the birth certificate. He – of course – thought I was lying, but then I told him that I had cheated on him and had a one night stand with Charlie Pace from Drive Shaft, and that Charlie was the father."

"And he bought it?"

"Well, that's not really clear yet. He said something about going to court to get a DNA test done, but honestly I don't think it's going to happen because he's flat broke."

Kate nodded, "But what if he comes up with the money?"

"Well, if that happens I guess I have to ask Hurley for help." Claire took a sip from her drink and leaned back in her chair, but winced at some pain caused by her new tattoo. "He doesn't care about Aaron. He didn't care then and he doesn't care now either. I imagine he's hit rock bottom and thought that I was still that stupid naïve little girl I was back then and would take him in with open arms … pretend to be a happy little family and of course share my Oceanic settlement with him."

"So you think he's just after your money?"

"I really do. I mean, we've been back for a year and a half and he just now decides to show up to meet his son? Where was he when we first got back? My face was all over the news, it's not like he could've missed it."

"Yeah, I guess." Kate agreed, but deep down she wasn't entirely sure she agreed with what Claire had done, because she'd been a child who grew up believing somebody was her father when in truth it hadn't been so. "What about Aaron?"

"What do you mean?" Claire didn't understand.

"What did you tell him?"

"Uhm … I haven't told him anything yet, but I think I will because … you see, Miles is mad because I contacted Liam and he's coming for a visit."

"Who's Liam?"

"Charlie's brother."

"Oh, wow." Kate was surprised. "He's coming here?"

"Yeah, next month. I just want Aaron to have some kind of extended family, you know."

Kate wasn't sure what to say to that, but one thing was undoubtedly true, Charlie had loved her and Aaron more than anything, so maybe this wasn't that bad of an idea. "I hope it all works out alright, and I hope you won't hear from Thomas again."

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About a week later, L.A. medical center

Claire stepped into the hospital room and looked around for a moment, noting the closed bathroom door she quickly realized where Kate was. She closed the door behind her, and put her purse down in one of the chairs, but as she walked closer to the bed James began to cough.

"Oh my god, Sawyer!" she exclaimed and rushed closer to him as he stirred and began to open his eyes.

"Kate." She shrieked loud enough to wake the dead, the bathroom door flung open and Kate rushed towards them.

"James? Can you hear me?"

He coughed and squinted against the bright lights that illuminated the room, "Son of a …" Then his eyes finally focused on Kate's face, "Freckles?"

She nodded and sobbed through tears, "Yeah, I'm right here."

He coughed again and Kate tried to help him sit up, while Claire quickly poured him a glass of water and offered it to him.

Kate helped him take a sip and put the glass back down.

James groaned in pain as he tried to push himself up to a full sitting position and both Kate and Claire ushered him to lie back and relax but he propped himself up anyways and grabbed Kate's arm rather forcefully.

He's afraid she might run and won't hear him out and he's just not in the condition to run after her, so his fingers encircled her upper arm in a fierce grip that was likely to leave a bruise. She's shocked by his roughness; he can see it in the way her eyes widen and stare back at him in confusion.

But the look of shock is quickly replaced by one of compassion when his words quickly register with her. "I didn't cheat on you."

Claire's chin quivered with emotions and she took a step away from the scene to let them have this moment, and Kate leaned in closer as he loosened the grip on her arm when he realized she's not trying to get away.

Her hands came up to gently frame is bruised face and she leaned even closer to him. "I know. We're good. Everything's good now. You're home."

Her lips connect with his and his hands disappeared in her hair as he pulled her closer to him to intensify the kiss they are sharing.

Kate pulled back and gasped from the intensity of the kiss and her eyes met with his. She blushed and James smirked at her, his eyes sparkling with mischief and his dimples digging deep into his cheeks before he spoke. His voice still rough and raspy, "Damn, I missed you!"

She laughed, cheeks tinted pink and glanced shyly at Claire who looked back and forth between the two, before she stepped closer, "Well, I'm gonna leave you two alone." She leaned in and kissed James on the cheek, "Welcome home, Sawyer."

He smirked at her as well and nodded his head in reply before Claire grabbed her purse and disappeared out of the room.

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"I think I'm gonna go lay down." Claire glanced over at Miles with a shy smile on her lips.

He met her eyes and nodded, "Do you want me to stay over, or …?" The sentence is left open ended and Claire knows he's waiting for her response.

Seeing Kate being reunited with Sawyer tonight and the undeniable chemistry they shared stirred up emotions in Claire that she'd been trying to hide, but simply couldn't anymore.

"Do you love me, Miles?"

"What?" Miles answered being caught off guard by Claire's unusual question.

They'd never said those three little words to each other.

Claire sighed, her eyes fixated onto the dashboard before her, "It's just, I like you … you know." She looked at him and their eyes met, "I really like you a lot, but –."

"But you're not in love with me." Miles interrupted and finished her sentence for her.

Claire nodded and Miles sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair before he admitted, "I like you too."

"But you're not in love with me either." Claire added on and gave him a sad smile.

His eyes met hers and he nodded in agreement, "But I'm okay with it. I'm okay with what we've got. What we've got is … its good, don't you think?"

Claire thought about it for a moment and shook her head, "I thought about it a lot lately, and seeing Sawyer and Kate tonight just brought it all back. Good enough just isn't good enough anymore, Miles. I keep thinking that I'll never love anyone as much as I love Charlie, but maybe I'm wrong … maybe if I don't settle for us being good enough and put myself out there again, maybe I'd find someone that loves me as much as Charlie did … someone that I'd fall in love with as much as I loved Charlie." A tear trickled down her cheek and she wiped it away before it dropped down her chin.

Miles shook his head in frustration. He might not be in love with Claire but he cared for her deeply, he cared about Aaron and he wasn't ready to lose them and what they had. "But what if you're wrong? What if there is no second soul mate out there waiting for you? What if this … us, right here and right now, is as good as it gets? What if … what if we gave this a real chance, then maybe we could love each other?"

Claire shook her head at that suggestion, "I like you so much. I really do Miles, and you've been great with Aaron too, but I just don't feel it, even though I really want to. I want to be happy and have my happily ever after with someone. I owe it to myself … I have to try to find happiness … I have to at least try."

She leaned in and gave Miles a kiss on the cheek and left him sitting in his car as she walked up to her front door and disappeared inside.

Claire toed off her shoes and walked upstairs to her bedroom. She fished her cell phone out of her purse to put it on the charger, glancing at it one more time to make sure she hadn't missed any calls from her mother who was watching Aaron tonight.

She turned on the small TV sitting on top of the dresser for background noise and stripped out of her clothes on the way into the bathroom to take a quick shower.

Claire dried herself off and wrapped the towel around her wet hair before she pulled on an oversized t-shirt to sleep in. Digging in her underwear drawer, she reached into the very back corner and retrieved the folded up piece of paper and the ring.

She sighed and climbed into bed with both items clutched in her hand. Settling back against the pillow she unfolded the piece of paper and stared at it like she'd done a million times before.

The paper was tattered and torn, the words smudged and smeared by water, but it meant everything to her.

_#5 The first time I heard myself on the radio_

_#4 Dad teaching me to swim at Butlins_

_#3 The Christmas Liam gave me the ring_

_#2 Woman outside Covent Garden calls me a Hero_

_#1 The night I met you_

Claire carefully folded the paper up again and put it on the empty pillow beside her. She kissed the ring in her hand and slipped onto one of her fingers even though it didn't fit, "Goodnight Charlie … I'll see you in my dreams."

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At the same time somewhere in Australia – 3 pm in the afternoon

Liam knocked impatiently once again, when he heard the lock being turned and the door finally opened.

"Long time no see, baby brother." Liam said before he passed by him and stepped into the one bedroom apartment.

"I've been busy." Charlie closed the door again and turned towards his sibling.

The place was a mess. Papers with scribbling on them were all over the place. Gossip magazines and newspaper articles about the oceanic six and oceanic eight scattered throughout the small apartment, and dirty dishes and empty food containers piled up high in the sink, kitchen counter and other places throughout.

Liam shook his head in despair, stepped over a pile of junk to make his way to the fridge, "Karen made something to eat for you."

"Tell her thanks for me."

Liam placed the casserole dish into the fridge and closed it. "I have been trying to call you for days now."

Charlie sat down on the foot of his bed and took a long drag from his cigarette before he answered, "I have been busy."

Liam looked around, "Doing what exactly?"

"I've been writing." Charlie answered defensively, and with the cigarette hanging from his lip, he turned and reached behind him, picking up a notepad from his bed and threw it towards his older brother.

Liam caught it and turned it right side up to take a look at the scribbling on the yellow paper pad. He nodded his head in approval, "Not bad."

"Not bad?" Charlie raised his voice, "Those lyrics are bloody brilliant."

Liam pulled out a chair from under the small dining table and turned it to sit on before he tossed the papers back at Charlie. "Maybe they are … too bad you'll never get to sing them because the whole world thinks that you've died."

"No." Charlie exclaimed knowing where this conversation was heading. It was always the same with Liam. Every time he came around he tried to convince Charlie to come forward and reveal himself to the world.

"You're wasting your time, Li, and mine too." He said and began to pace around the small apartment, his fingers shook as he lit up another cigarette.

"There has to be a way, Charlie. Things are very different now. Karen doesn't understand but she goes along with it for your sake … and Megan. My baby girl – your niece – has a right to know that her uncle is alive and well and grow up not just believing that you are just one of her Daddy's friends. And what about her?"

He picked up a gossip magazine that showed Claire on the front page, "Almost four years ago you showed up and told me that you were supposed to die … you cried and said that you were supposed to have died so that she could have been rescued, but –."

"But I didn't die and she didn't get rescued." Charlie explained defensively again. "She got left behind because I didn't die when I was supposed to."

Liam stood now and stepped closer to his brother, "Look at this!" He held up the magazine with Claire's smiling face on the cover, "You said that you wanted to die to save her … then you said that nobody can know that you are still alive to protect her, but baby brother for heaven's sake would you look at her. She's alive and she is well and she still cares about you."

"You don't know that." Charlie questioned Liam's words.

"I do actually. She called me."

"She what … she called you? When?"

"A couple of days ago, that's why I've been trying to call you. I'm going to go see her. She sounds like a fine girl, Charlie. We talked for quite a long time … she told me I have a nephew. She said that the boy is yours, Charlie. Is it true?"

Charlie lowered his gaze and seemed lost in thought as he tried to make sense of everything his brother had just told him. "I wish he was." He finally whispered and his eyes connected with Liam.

X

Charlie sat alone in his bed and reached for his guitar. He mindlessly began to play until his eyes fell onto yet another picture of Claire on the cover of a magazine.

That's when he remembered a song he'd heard on the radio a few times. The lyrics had caught his attention, because they felt so true to how he'd been feeling for a while now … he could've written them himself.

So he began to play that song and quietly sang the words while his mind drifted to the only woman he'd ever truly loved.

"_Incompatible, it don't matter though'_

_Cause someone's bound to hear my cry_

_Speak out if you do, you're not easy to find_

_Is it possible Mrs. Lovable is already in my life?_

_Right in front of me or maybe you're in disguise_

_Who doesn't long for someone to hold?_

_Who knows how to love you without being told?_

_Somebody tell me why I'm on my own_

_If there's a soul mate for everyone__"_

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End Notes: Like I said, these are copied and pasted scenes from my other story, so some of it may not make any sense to you if you haven't read them, but since most of my readers are Skaters, I wanted to post it here to hear from some PB&J fans, if any of you are still out there and are reading fanfics. Thanks for reading! Please leave some feedback, it will only take a minute or two but it would totally make my day! Thanks! XOXO


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